A New List Of Macs And Upgrades We Want

The Mincey Plantation in Georgia remains pretty much an Apple orchard of technology gadgets. Those are the ones we use, but there’s a Windows 10 notebook around somewhere, an old PC made new with Linux (Mint version), and a Galaxy-something with an old version of Android.

Otherwise, each of us have a Mac, an iPhone, and an iPad; plus an assortment of older devices which we share with neighbor kids or use as extras or serve as hand-me-downs or a place to run beta software. With iPhone tucked neatly in my pocket, and enough room in the budget for an iPad with Face ID, here’s what I want to see in the Mac line for 2018.

Face Me ID

Maybe there is a good reason why Apple did little with Touch ID on the Mac. Who needs it with Face ID just around the 2018 corner. At least, I’m not buying a new Mac until I can get Face ID. What I want to see in Apple’s Mac line is a different story.

Mac mini – I forgot to mention we have a Mac mini running under the television stand. It’s been there since 2008; a PowerPC model which signals 7:00 AM with a chime and signs off at 10:00. Three hours a day, everyday for not quite a decade. Today’s Mac mini models feel about as old and haven’t had an upgrade worthy of note in years. The mini runs a 4th generation Intel Inside while Intel ships 8th generation chips. What is Apple thinking? Make a mini customers can be proud to use.

MacBook – It’s a sad state of affairs when the least expensive Mac notebook is an aging MacBook Air without a Retina display, and the entry-level MacBook is the same starting price as a MacBook Pro. Clearly the Mac notebook line is in need of refurbishing. Add more ports, get a decent keyboard, cut the price. Yeah, I know record Mac sales blah blah blah.

MacBook Pro – Pro just isn’t what it used to be until the iMac Pro came along. The MacBook Pro is more of a MacBook Lite. Pro means power, storage, RAM, ports, etc. MacBook Pro has none of that and a lousy keyboard to boot. The size is about right but both 13-inch and 15-inch models need new everything to keep using the so-called Pro monicker. Hey, Dell and HP can do it, so why not Apple? Lazy?

iMac – We’ve seen a powerful future in iMac Pro but make no mistake, Apple will not sell many of the Pro model relative to the day-to-day workhorse models in 21-inch and 27-in varieties. Still, all are in need of upgrades. Newer CPUs, better GPUs, more user installable RAM options, and let’s kick the Fusion Drive to the curb in Cupertino. It doesn’t even work with Apple’s new macOS High Sierra APFS file system. What’s with that, Apple?

Mac Pro – This is the wildest of the wild cards. Apple’s canister trash can Mac Pro was a design beauty that signaled Apple does not care about professionals. It languished for years, wasn’t really upgradeable, and was over priced. Apple seems to have recognized a problem and might have a solution but when? 2018? Apple won’t say. 2019? Maybe I should go on a hunger strike until Tim Cook calls me with the details and a ship date. I promise not to say anything to any, Tim. OK?

MacBook ARM – If ever there was a company that could do the unthinkable it would be Apple. So, here’s to a future we’ll likely never see but we all want. A Mac and iPad hybrid. The screen would be all iPad. Detach the screen from the keyboard case and you have, well, an iPad. Attach the screen and you have a Mac because the Mac is built into the keyboard case. That Mac would be an ARM-based Mac that would not run anything other than macOS ARM– except ARM-based Linux or ARM-based Windows. Make it $999, Apple, and I’ll buy two and promise to stop complaining about the Mac mini for a month in 2018. You choose the month.

There is no need to complain about the iMac Pro because it just began to ship and show up in stores, but if nothing has been upgraded by this time next year, I’ll end 2018 to cry havoc and let slip the dogs of war!

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About Jeffrey Mincey

As a Mac, Windows, and Linux system administrator in Atlanta, Georgia, I've used Macs for almost 30 years (mostly late at night). Read more of my articles here. Check out my Mac tips, tricks, and app reviews at Bohemian Boomer.